The total tax take for the first 11 months of the year is €38.16bn, €1.13bn (3%) more than had been forecast in last year’s Budget.
Exchequer figures for November were €35m (0.6%) ahead of target according to the Department of Finance, with almost €6.2bn taken in by the State last month.
Income tax take was the main driver of this excess, with €70m (2.7%) more taken in during the month than had been forecast.
Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax were also substantially higher than anticipated, up €22m and €13m respectively on Budget 2014 expectations.
However VAT, Corporation Tax and Local Property Tax receipts were lower than forecast for the month.
In the year to November, VAT receipts were €312m (3%) higher than forecast at €10.8bn.
Income tax receipts – including the Universal Social Charge – were €122m (0.8%) ahead of forecast at €15.77bn. This figure includes tax returns made by self-employed workers last month.
Corporation Tax was €209m (5.3%) higher than expected at €4.18bn, while the take for Excise Duties was up €245m (5.7%) on what was anticipated at the end of last year.
The only tax categories that stood below Government forecasts by the end of November were Capital Acquisitions Tax, which is €26m (7.2%) behind at €335m and Local Property Tax take, which is down €26m (5.5%) at €449m.
All of this puts Exchequer figures €2.976bn (8.5%) higher than in the same period of last year.
Government expenditure is also down year-on-year, however at almost €37.88bn it is €184m (0.5%) ahead of forecasts in Budget 2014.
This is blamed primarily on an overspend at the Department of Health, which was €580m (5.5%) ahead of profile by the end of the month.
